All dogs in Beijing have to be registered with a local public security bureau. (The municipal government has no specific regulations regarding keeping other types of pets.) In order to register your dog in Beijing you must do the following:

(1) Sign a Full Responsibility AgreementBefore you can register your dog, you must sign an agreement with your local neighborhood association stating you’ll take full responsibility for your dog’s deeds. (The management office of your residential community can help you contact your local neighborhood association.)

When meeting your neighborhood association, bring the following 3 items with you:(A) Proof that you live in the neighborhood, which means the deed to your apartment/house ora rental contract (the rental period needs to be at least for 1 year), (B) your passport with a Chinese visa (Z or X are okay, as long as the duration of stay is at least 1 year),(C) your dog’s quarantine certificate (only needed if you brought your dog in from abroad).

(2) Register Your Dog with Your Local Public Security BureauTake the full responsibility agreement to your local public security bureau within 30 days of signing it, along with all the documents you took to visit the neighborhood association (A-C above), as well as RMB 1000 (registration fee), and the bureau will give you your dog’s registration certificate. Congratulations! Your dog is now registered.

(3) Take Your Dog to Get a Health CheckThough your dog is now registered, there is an additional step you must fulfill that goes hand-in-hand with registration.

The municipal government requires that all dogs in the city receive an annual health checkup through a designated animal clinic. Check your dog’s registration certificate for a list of such clinics. You don’t pay the clinic anything, as the cost of the checkup is included in the registration fee. (A rabies shot will be administered during the checkup.)

After the checkup, a clinic worker will give you your dog’s health certificate. Please keep both your dog’s registration certificate and health certificate together, as you will need both to reregister him.

Reregistering Your Dog:

Keep in mind that after you have registered your dog for the first time, you must reregister him each subsequent year.

While first-time registration of your dog can be done at any time of the year, in Beijing, public security bureaus only do reregistrations in June. (Yes, if you don’t register your dog for the first time in June, you won’t get a full year’s worth service out of your RMB 1000.)

To reregister your dog, take your dog’s registration certificate and health certificate to your local public security bureau, along with RMB 500 (reregistration fee). Congratulations! Your dog is reregistered. Now take your dog to get his annual health checkup (included in the RMB 500), and repeat this process every June.

Helpful Information:

Dogs are forbidden in hotels, parks, greenbelts, cinemas, exhibition halls, schools,hospitals, and on major roads – such as Chang'an Jie. Dogs are not permitted on buses,and you must first obtain driver permission before bringing your dog into a taxi.